52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 40: "The Girl Who Played with Fire" By Stieg Larsson

In this second book in the Millennium Trilogy, Mikael Blomkvist begins an investigation of the sex trade that threatens to have wide implications.  When two of his colleagues who have been working on this story are murdered, Blomkvist is stunned to find that Lisbeth Salander (whom he has been unable to contact since she suddenly dropped out of his life) has been charged with their murders. Could she really be responsible for this horrific crime?

This is a very well written and engrossing story, although the dramatic and chilling events at the climax stretch credulity.  It ended quite suddenly and I really wanted an epilogue.  I'm sure the lack of a fully satisfying wrap-up to this story has to do with the fact that this series was published posthumously. When I cued up the beginning of the recording of the final book in the trilogy ("The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"), events picked up right where this one ended.

One note about this fascinating and popular series: it contains strong language and sexual content which could be offensive to some.  It is neither gratuitous nor out of place for the context of the book, but the language, in particular, is copious.

Sojourner

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 39: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" By Stieg Larsson

This is the first book in the wildly popular Millennium Trilogy written by Swedish author Stieg Larsson.  Larsson passed away in 2004 before this book was published, so all three of the books were published posthumously.

Mikael Blomkvist is a financial journalist who has just been convicted of libel and his future in journalism is in question. As he contemplates the short jail sentence he has received, he is contacted by Henrik Vanger, the elderly CEO of the powerful Vanger Corporation.  Vanger offers Blomkvist a freelance assignment.  He wants to find out who killed his neice, Harriett Vanger who disappeared without a trace in 1966.  Blomkvist accepts the assigment, and is joined by Lisbeth Salander, an enigmatic young private investigator. The Vanger family secrets that Blomkvist and Salander uncover will put them in grave personal danger.

This is a very well-written epic and I am looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.  It has already been made into a movie in Sweden, and a Hollywood adaptation is set to be released late in 2011.

Sojourner

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 38: "Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other" by Scott Simon

Scott Simon (Host of NPR's program "Weekend Edition") and his wife are raising two little girls that they adopted from China.  In this book, he tells the story of their adoption process, and also shares lots of stories of other adoptive families.  It's an uplifting, heartwarming look at adoption.  It's also a very light and fluffy read.

Sojourner